Master File Transfers in TMUX with trzsz: Install, Commands, and Tips

What is trzsz

trzsz (trz/tsz) is a Python‑based file transfer utility compatible with TMUX. It works like the classic rz / sz tools but adds a progress bar, directory support, drag‑and‑drop upload, and works in terminals such as iTerm2, Tabby, Electerm, and TTYD. A Go implementation ( trzsz-go) provides the same features without requiring terminal‑specific support.

Installation

Ubuntu (apt)

# sudo apt update && sudo apt install software-properties-common
# sudo add-apt-repository ppa:trzsz/ppa && sudo apt update
# sudo apt install trzsz

Debian (apt)

# sudo apt install curl gpg
# curl -s 'https://keyserver.ubuntu.com/pks/lookup?op=get&search=0x7074ce75da7cc691c1ae1a7c7e51d1ad956055ca' \
| gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/trzsz.gpg
# echo 'deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/trzsz.gpg] https://ppa.launchpadcontent.net/trzsz/ppa/ubuntu jammy main' \
| sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/trzsz.list
# sudo apt update
# sudo apt install trzsz

CentOS / RHEL (yum)

# echo '[trzsz]
name=Trzsz Repo
baseurl=https://yum.fury.io/trzsz/
enabled=1
gpgcheck=0' | sudo tee /etc/yum.repos.d/trzsz.repo
# sudo yum install trzsz

macOS (Homebrew)

# brew update
# brew install trzsz-go

Windows (Scoop)

# scoop bucket add extras
# scoop install trzsz

Usage

Upload files with trz and download files with tsz. Both commands share the same options:

-h Show help and exit

-v Show version and exit

-q Hide progress bar

-y Overwrite existing files without prompting

-b Binary mode (faster for archives, images, media)

-e Escape all known control characters

-d Specify a file or directory to transfer

-B N Set maximum buffer size (default 10 M)

-t N Set timeout in seconds (default 20 s; 0 or negative disables timeout)

path Destination directory on the remote side (default: current directory)

Upload examples:

# trz               # upload files from the local machine to the remote server
# trz /opt          # upload files to /opt on the remote side

When invoked over ssh (or trzsz -d ssh) the tool supports drag‑and‑drop of files and folders.

Download example:

# tsz file1 file2 file3

Reference Documentation

trzsz repository: https://github.com/trzsz/trzsz

trzsz‑go repository: https://github.com/trzsz/trzsz-go

trzsz‑js repository: https://github.com/trzsz/trzsz.js

Chinese documentation: https://trzsz.github.io/cn/